I’m usually the one who takes the kids to dental appointments and one this one occasion I brought along the 5D Mark II and EF 100mm Macro. Not for the purpose of taking the pictures you see here but just in case I bump into something macro worthy such as this beautiful sunflower I came across in October 2009. The dental appointment usually took an hour or so and not wanting to risk theft or the electronics getting fried in intense heat I brought it down with me. One thing led to another and with no objection from the hygienist, I shot away, the whole time maintaining a distance for obvious reasons.
Prophylaxis (short for prophy) paste – a special gritty toothpaste-like material – is scooped up like ice cream into the cup and spun around on the teeth to make them shiny smooth.
Polishing is done using a slow speed handpiece with a soft rubber cup that spins on the end.
I don't know what this instrument is called but it may be what is referred to as the high-speed handpiece (dental drill) that sprays out a jet of water. Obviously if your teeth are being worked on you'll never get to see the drama that goes on inside your mouth.
After the sealants are put on, the dental assistant harden or cure the sealants by shining a blue light on them. The orange filter that you see on the curing light above filters out the visible light, allowing the dentist or assistant to see what they are doing without looking directly at the possibly harmful light.
